Windows XP and Office 2003 Extended Support services will be terminated by Microsoft on the 4th April 2014
The march of progress….
This will no doubt be old news for some of our readers, but we at Varidan feel that it should be reiterated as once this date passes, Systems running Windows XP and/or Office 2003 will be increasingly vulnerable to security exploits as time passes.
We urge those who are still running these products in a live environment to consider upgrading as soon as practical.
Microsoft have this to say about the End of Life:
from: http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/enterprise/endofsupport.aspx
What does this mean for me?
It means you should take action. After April 8, 2014, there will be no new security updates, non-security hotfixes, free or paid assisted support options or online technical content updates.
Running Windows XP SP3 and Office 2003 in your environment after their end of support date may expose your company to potential risks, such as:
- Security & Compliance Risks: Unsupported and unpatched environments are vulnerable to security risks. This may result in an officially recognized control failure by an internal or external audit body, leading to suspension of certifications, and/or public notification of the organization’s inability to maintain its systems and customer information.
- Lack of Independent Software Vendor (ISV) & Hardware Manufacturers support: A recent industry report from Gartner Research suggests “many independent software vendors (ISVs) are unlikely to support new versions of applications on Windows XP in 2011; in 2012, it will become common.” And it may stifle access to hardware innovation: Gartner Research further notes that in 2012, most PC hardware manufacturers will stop supporting Windows XP on the majority of their new PC models.